Sometimes you have to glance at the rearview mirror to get a sense of just how far you’ve come. So I recently pulled from the shelf some 1970s and early-1980s editions of BJT’s oldest sister publication.

Business Jet Traveler has won two more editorial prizes—our 24th and 25th major wins since 2005. This latest recognition comes in the 2014 Folio: Eddies and Ozzies, the largest awards competition in magazine publishing, which this year attracted upwards of 2,000 entries.

No consumer likes a surprise on the bill, unless, of course, it’s the rare happy surprise. But lots of companies seem to consider inflated invoices integral to the business plan. As we all know from too much experience, the ploy works like this: hook the customer with a low advertised price, then hit him with extra charges.

I’ve worked for a variety of magazine publishers in my career—from giants like Time Inc., which has (or at least had) tens of thousands of staffers, to small, privately owned operations like AIN Publications, my employer for the last decade. In every case, what most determined whether the company was innovative, enjoyable to work for and successful was not some corporate mission statement, not the audience the magazines addressed, not the financial resources the publisher possessed. It was the people I dealt with there every day. Were they smart, dedicated, creative and likable…or not?

After I interviewed Honeywell CEO Dave Cote for this issue’s cover story, he showed me around his Morristown, New Jersey office, which is a large, light-filled space crammed floor to ceiling with mementos of his years of travel across the globe.